Pakistan will come back harder at us: Shikha Pandey

""If we have seen them play, they have obviously also seen us play. They'll also come prepared with their strategies," said Pandey. Picture credit: ACC/Abhilasha Agarwal

Shikha Pandey, the India Women all-rounder, noted that as much as their victory over Pakistan in the league encounter gives their morale a boost going into the 2016 ACC Women's Asia Cup final against the same opponent, her side would be wary of not letting complacency creep in ahead of Sunday's (December 4) title clash.

"It does (give you confidence). You have a psychological edge when you've defeated them already. But at the same time, it also gives you a message that they are going to come back harder on us," Pandey told Cricbuzz ahead of what would be India's sixth consecutive Asia Cup final.

More than eight months after their last Twenty20 International encounter against the arch-rivals, India avenged their two-run defeat at the 2016 ICC Women's World T20 by holding their nerve better in a low-scoring thriller that their Asia Cup league encounter turned out to be. Despite their struggles in the powerplay, both with ball and bat, Harmanpreet Kaur came to India's rescue as the five-time winners overhauled the 98-run target with four balls and five wickets to spare in a last-over finish. Pandey stressed that in the all-important final, apart from their game plan, India will also have to prepare well mentally to come out victorious.

"If we have seen them play, they have obviously also seen us play. They'll also come prepared with their strategies," the all-rounder observed. "We will have to be mentally very tough when we face them and that's what we are going to do. Hopefully we end up on the winning side."

India stormed into the final on the back of five back-to-back wins in the competition, the last one being a 99-run thrashing of Nepal. Pandey feels that their unbeaten streak in the competition bodes well for the team's confidence but their planning with have to be top-notch. "We've won all the games till now which is a good sign," she said. "(But) the final is the most important game and that too, it's against Pakistan.

"We will take it as against any other opposition and now that we have played against them, we will have our strategies in place. They have quite a few (new) players coming in. We have the videos in hand as well, so we will have a good plan for them."

This is not the first time in the Asia Cup's short history that India and Pakistan will be fighting it out for the trophy. While India would be looking to add their sixth title to their cabinet, Pakistan are still hunting their first. In what was incidentally Harmanpreet's first game as the captain, India defended a sub-par 81 to play spoilsport in Pakistan's maiden final appearance, at Guangzhou way back in 2012. Asked if titles like 'defending champions' and 'heavyweights' add to the pressure in an already high-voltage game like one against Pakistan, the 27-year-old maintained that enjoying the game rates high on the team's priority list, more than the result.

"I read about the previous (Asia Cup final) that we played but it's been four years. I wouldn't say that there would be pressure on us because the kind of cricket we are playing right now, we are enjoying every game," said Pandey. "We have our fun inside and we make sure that we enjoy the process more than the result. That is the basic funda that we have been trying to follow. So, process is more important for us right now, than the results. (As far as) the final is concerned, we will play our best cricket, the best cricket that we have in our kitty, and obviously hope for the best result."

Pandey, however, conceded that Pakistan's four-pronged spin attack gives them a slight upper head, given how the wickets at the AIT cricket ground in Bangkok have been assisting the slower bowlers. "They sort of have an advantage because they have a spin-based attack," she said, adding, "The kind of wickets that are here, the more pace you give on to the ball, you have to be very accurate; like how Jhulu di has been bowling. They have four good spinners who have been using the wicket really well, which we also have been trying to do from the (first) game. I'm sure it is not going to go that close a match (but) hopefully, we win it."

With the final likely to be played on a wicket that hasn't been used in the competition thus far, Pandey said India will back their strengths in the high-stakes game. "We'll play to our strengths, we have a mix of everything. We have someone who can stay on the wicket and we have batters in our side who can just go and flourish and score those quick runs. So, we are not thinking too much about it," she pointed. "We'll stick to our strengths and obviously if we play the best brand of cricket that we have, we'll win it comfortably."